Slade van Staden joins MI New York

Two wins in three games from the LA leg. On some tough batting wickets, MI New York showed a lot of fight and character. As we head back to Dallas for the last three league games with a mission to qualify for the playoffs, skipper, Nicholas Pooran believes the peak is still to come.“The next week is going to be really important, with the final three games in Dallas. This week was really important for us and we're leaving LA with two wins from three games. As a captain, we're really happy and we'll continue to build,” he said on the back of the loss to San Francisco Unicorns. “Our batting has been improving, we'll keep fighting, and I believe the best is yet to come.”One of the bright spots in the game was Tristan Luus, whose late contribution with the bat (12) and a 2/21 with the ball kept MINY in the hunt. At the post-match press conference, he spoke about bouncing back from such games. “I think there is a lot of teams that have bad games and bad days. It’s all about the bounce back. We have a good team and we are still in a good position in this tournament. We just need to regroup, have a good conversation about this game and then from there basically don’t try to think about this game.”There’s an instant redemption on offer as both these teams clash once again in Texas in two days. With just two points separating the top-ranked and the bottom-ranked team on the table, this sure is heating up! 

It wasn’t our day. On the wrong side of the toss and put in to bat when the pitch was sticky, the MI New York batters just couldn’t get going. Undone by some sharp bowling, it was a late effort from the tail that got us past 100, and then our seamers tried hard too, but with the ball skidding on under lights and the advantage of chasing a smallish target, it wasn’t to be. Pooran tries infusing momentum, but MINY wobbleEvery match, we’ve had someone step up, play the anchor, and bat through. It looked like Nicholas Pooran would be that guy tonight, looking good with four fours in his 19-ball 20, as the rest of the top-order fell around him. But he too fell in the seventh over. It wasn’t a day for Kieron Pollard’s heroics either as the team collapse to 65/7 in the 15th over. Bosch, Luus and a late-order resurgence Corbin Bosch: 22(21)Tristan Luus: 12(14)And thanks to this 30-run stand for the eighth wicket to get the team up to 104, MINY had something to play around with. A sliver of hope. What a debut, Faisal! Debuts just don’t get any sweeter. Opening the bowling, off the first legal ball of his career, he cleaned up the dangerous Lhuan-dre Pretorius. And then followed up next over with a sharp bouncer that got big on Finn Allen, who could only miscue it as far as mid-on. With Tristan Luus and Tajinder Dhillon chipping in, at 66/4, there was slight hope of a special Blue and Gold defence, but alas, Matthew Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi kept going and saw the Unicorns home. Chip up Fam, we’ve played some special cricket over the last three games to sustain the kind of run we did. As we head back to Texas for our final league leg with the playoffs berth beckoning, this is the time to not lose steam. We have an instant opportunity with the reverse fixture coming up in the very next game to set things right.. 

One of the lasting memories from the 2014 IPL seasons was that of Kieron Pollard and Corey Anderson playing blinders and pulling Mumbai Indians through past the finish line in matches that seemed dead and buried. Tonight, 12 years later, they’ve rolled back the clock to pull off a similar heist at the MLC. The partnership: 88 runs | 48 balls……and a mastery in calculating this chase and taking it deep. At 80/4 in the 12th over, things looked dicey. The target of 166 was still some distance away and the asking rate was touching 11s. Pollard started aggressively. Corey responded with a six and a four off Jason Holder in the next over, before playing out Sunil Narine out in the 15th over. The requirement: 62 runs in five overs.Over #16: 11 runs Over #17: 19 runs Over #18: 13 runs Over #19: 10 runs And just like that, nine runs were needed off the final over, and through a massive tonk over long-on, Anderson sealed the deal in style. Kieron Pollard, a gift that keep giving 63 runs | 35 balls | 6 fours | 2 sixes. He just doesn’t get tired, does he! Churning out another legend-class, adding a feather to an already-decorated hat, KP did KP things. Tonight, he took the attack to the opposition immediately, toyed around with the equation, the bowling, and made sure he pulled off another of his iconic chases. Bosch-Ugarkar set it upWith three wickets apiece, MINY’s pace bowling duo made sure the LAKR batters never got off the hooks, chipping away with regular wickets. On a pitch that has progressively gotten better for batting over the last three days, 165 was a total we’d have taken at the start. WWWhoaaa!!!! Three wins on the trot. Table-toppers. Peak MI New York have touched down!!